Just 'Haunting' For Some Laughs
by GoldGuardian2418
Summary: After a hard day, Ben decides to stay at the Grant Mansion for the night, but Ghostfreak is feeling mischievous. Done as a request for newbienovelistRD. :)


**newbienovelistRD requested this one. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy! :)**

 **I only own Rachel. Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action.**

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 **Just 'Haunting' For Some Laughs**

Rachel was vacuuming the foyer when she was the front door open and glanced up to see Big Chill and Ultimate Big Chill standing there with Ben between them. They were helping him stand upright as his legs looked ready to buckle. The owner of the Grant Mansion quickly went up to them. "Are you guys alright?" she asked worriedly.

"Somewhat," said Big Chill as he and his brother helped Ben to the living room and onto the couch. The hero smiled gratefully at them as he collapsed a bit onto the couch.

"Tough battle?" Rachel asked gently.

All three nodded and the two Necrofriggians headed upstairs to rest and the blonde-haired girl sat down next to the brown-haired boy. "Ben, why don't you spend the night here?" she asked as she noticed it was sunset.

He looked at her, grateful for the offer. "Okay, let me just call my parents and let them know I'm staying with a friend," he said.

"Do they know about this place?" she asked gently.

Ben nodded. "When Dad decided to become a Plumber like Grandpa, he was given information about where the aliens live on Earth and so knows about it, but not the name of this place or where it is exactly. Just that it exists," he said.

Rachel smiled and nodded. "Okay," she said and got up to close the house up for the night and to talk to Rook over the communications, as he was coming back to Plumber HQ after a mission and would be returning the next day.

Meanwhile, Ben had called his folks so they wouldn't worry about him and then headed up the stairs to his room, unaware that he was being watched by a familiar spooky spectre.

Ben had just lain down on his bed when he felt something cold touch his neck and he gasped, jumping up and hearing a creepy laugh.

Normally, the hero would have thought it was Big Chill and Ultimate Big Chill scaring him, but he couldn't see them as they were always semi-visible when they went intangible. Whoever laughed was invisible.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

That spooky wailing did the trick and Ben screamed as he scrambled to get up, but fell off the bed with a loud 'THUD'. The spectre obviously found this amusing and cackled evilly, the creepy sound scaring Ben badly and he got up, but then saw the rug lift up to block his escape and the lights flickered a bit and shadows moved along the walls.

Ben screamed again as he managed to get around the rug and run out the room, but something exploded in front of him, making him jump back. It had just been a smoke bomb, but the noise, along with the freaky things he had just seen, scared him badly and he kept running.

The hero was hating this because he had been scared enough earlier in the tough battle with Zs'Skayr, just barely managing to stop the evil ghost alien who had once again tried to take over another planet and had almost succeeded because Ben's Omnitrix had been acting haywire, but as the very last moment, it finally worked and he had been able to turn into Atomix and blast Zs'Skayr away.

Which was why he had been exhausted afterwards because he had used a lot of his energy in the fight and now really didn't have any energy to fight off this creepy spectre that was scaring him now.

Another spooky wail sounded behind him and chains rattled before Ben felt a chain wrap around his waist and something was cuffed to his ankle, making him really afraid as he ran for the door, terrified out of his mind and just wanting to get out, but the chain around him stopped him cold and he fell to the floor, his face turning white as a ghost.

Suddenly, something manifested before him and he jumped back before seeing it was Ghostfreak, who was upset because he realized he had gone too far. "Ben, I'm sorry," said the Ectonurite remorsefully. "I didn't mean to go too far."

Upset, Ben glared at him. "That's a little hard to believe," he said. "I already had to deal with Zs'Skayr earlier and now have to deal with you scaring me just for a laugh!"

Ghostfreak winced. "I had no idea you had to deal with that creep today," he said truthfully. "And I was just practicing my haunting skills on you."

Ben didn't stop glaring at him. "Why? Why not practice on Rachel or one of the other aliens?" he asked.

The Ectonurite reached forward and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "They're used to my scares," he said quietly. "And I needed an honest opinion about some new tricks I've been working on and you always give the best opinions on that."

"You could have just asked me," Ben said grumpily.

"Perhaps, but then your reaction wouldn't have been an honest one," said Ghostfreak. "But I honestly didn't mean to carry it too far. I'm sorry."

Ben shook his head and squirmed to get free of the chain wrapped around him and the alien helped him, even removing the cuff from his ankle. The alien then held out a hand to help the boy up, but he refused it as he tried to stand up on his own, but his knees buckled again. He was headed for a nasty face plant when Ghostfreak caught him. "Ben, I truly am sorry," he tried again.

"Save it, Ghostfreak," he said a bit harshly. "I'm not in the mood to forgive you."

That made the alien ghost wince again, but then the middle of that last sentence gave him an idea. "You know what? You just reminded me of one new trick I had thought about the other day," he said.

Ben rolled his eyes. "Really?" he asked sarcastically.

Ghostfreak nodded and suddenly pinned Ben to the floor, holding the boy's arms over his head and two tentacles tied up the boy's legs. "Yes, my last new trick was tickling my victim with my tentacles for an hour," he said with a chuckle and started tickling Ben.

The hero began laughing as the striped tentacles were tickling him furiously, getting his ribs, sides, knees, and feet all at once. Having never been tickled so crazily before, Ben couldn't stop his laughter. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STOP!" he pleaded.

"The hour's not up for a bit, Ben," Ghostfreak teased. "However, I would be willing to show mercy if you forgive me for scaring you too much."

Ben shook his head, since he couldn't answer through his laughter. "Then, like before, I'll show no mercy!" The ghost alien teased him as his tentacles now went for the ultimate attack. Two tentacles began tickling Ben's stomach crazily while one tentacle wiggled into his belly button and four tentacles began tickling the boy's underarms.

That really drove Ben insane and he laughed his hardest, squirming desperately to get away.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed out.

Ghostfreak chuckled at that. "Now that I think about it, I should have tickled you first," he said thoughtfully, a note of teasing in his voice.

Ben finally reached his limit. "OKAY! OKAY!" he cried out.

Seeing the boy wanted to say something, Ghostfreak stopped tickling him and pulled his tentacles back, letting Ben catch his breath. "Yes, Ben?" he asked curiously.

The hero finally got his breath back. "I forgive you," he said honestly.

"Are you sure?" Ghostfreak asked teasingly as he tickled the boy's underarms with his hands this time, making Ben curl up in defense and laugh again as he nodded. "Alright."

The Ectonurite then grabbed the boy's arms and gently pulled him to sit up before helping him stand up, catching the exhausted boy as his knees buckled again. "Goodness, that fight did drain you," said the alien in concern.

"Yeah," said Ben and then shivered a bit.

"Ben? What's wrong?" Ghostfreak asked in concern, sensing Ben was remembering part of the fight and something about it had frightened him.

"Zs'Skayr is really scary," Ben admitted. "Scarier than clowns and peacocks combined."

That took a lot on Ben's part to say and Ghostfreak knew he wasn't kidding. "I know how you feel," he said. "That creep even scares me and I'm one of his kind."

"Yeah, but you're a good guy. He's more evil than Vilgax."

Ghostfreak nodded in agreement. "And more dangerous than him too," he said.

Ben then stumbled, forcing the ghost to catch him again to prevent him from a face plant. "Here," he said, scooping the hero up in his arms and carrying him to the boy's room, setting him down on the bed.

"Thanks," said Ben gratefully and then looked embarrassed. "Um, Ghostfreak, this is going to sound really stupid, but…,"

"Yes?" The alien gently prompted him.

"C-Could…could you stay?"

The stammered request took Ghostfreak by surprise, but seeing how the boy looked both earnest and embarrassed, he sat down next to him.

"To keep any nightmares away?" He inquired gently.

Ben nodded. "If…if you don't mind doing so," he said, still embarrassed.

"I don't mind," said the Ectonurite. "Rachel sometimes asks me to stay with her too to keep her nightmares away."

The surprised Ben. "She gets nightmares?" He asked.

"Sometimes," said Ghostfreak. "We all do, especially when we're worried about our loved ones."

The boy nodded in agreement to that and felt the alien tuck him in, ruffling his hair in brotherly affection. "Sleep, Ben. I'm right here," the ghostly alien soothed him as he lay down beside the boy.

Ben nodded. "Thanks…bro," he said quietly.

Ghostfreak chuckled gently. "You're welcome, little brother," he said before they both fell asleep, peace filling their minds and the Mansion once again.

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 **Please leave a review, but no flames!**

 **GoldGuardian2418**


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